The Golden Angel
by Labels15
Summary: When Clary's abusive father dies, she is moved to her Uncle's house in a small village in the middle of nowhere. Clary wants to try and start a new life, but it's a but difficult with a Golden Angel living across the road and an uncle who is worse than her father. What will happen when things start to get out of hand. Will her Angel be able to save her?
1. Chapter 1

**Hi. This is my first fanfiction. I hope you like it. Please review. :D**

Chapter 1

Pain shot through Clary's back, as she slammed into the wall. Through her tears she could see, the man who she had once called her father, stalking towards her. Clary cowered back into the wall, preparing herself of what was about to happen. Now that she was 17, Clary had got used to how she was treated every night after Valentine had staggered home from the pub. Ever since her mother had died when she was 8, Valentine had become more abusive and violent. He had never liked Clary because of she never did what she was told and when Jocelyn died, he was reminded of her every day when Clary came home from school.

Valentines' foot swung back and hit Clary hard in the ribs.

"That's for being lazy and not getting my dinner on the table in time." He snarled. Clary whimpered in pain and scurried out the room, limping down the stairs to make her father dinner.

The next morning, Clary's alarm woke her up at 6am. She groggily switched it off and walked slowly to the bathroom. Standing in front of the mirror, Clary winced as she prodded the black bruises on her ribs. She looked at her reflection and saw a short girl, only just 5 foot 4, with flaming red hair and deep green eyes, which have seen things no 17 year old should have ever seen. Clary jumped in and out the shower and got dressed. She grabbed her school bag and was out the door by 7am. It took her 3/4 of an hour to get to school.

She saw her best friend Simon standing with the new girl, Mia. She walked over to them, tying to cover up her limp.

"Are you alright?" Simon asked. Nothing got past him very easily.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just fell awkwardly last night." Clary grimaced. Simon gave her a knowing look. He was the only person who knew about Valentine and the only person in the world she could trust.

The day went by as a blur. Clary found herself on at lunch on a table with Simon and Mia. Mia was talking about the new movie that was coming out on Saturday.

"Hey Clary, do you think you will be able to come tomorrow?" Mia asked Clary.

"Sorry, what? I wasn't listening."

"Will you be able to come to the cinema with me and Simon tomorrow?" Clary shook her head. Her father would never let her out the house at the weekends. In fact, he would never let her out the house, ever.

"No, sorry I've got lots of homework and I've got a big project coming up for art." Clary lied. She felt a bit guilty as she watched Mia's face fall. "Maybe next weekend. We can go shopping or something." She saw Simon roll his eyes. He knew she hated shopping.

Mia grinned. "Yes, that'll be great."

At the end of the day Clary said goodbye to Simon and Mia. As soon as she walked through the front door, Valentine pounced on her.

"I want this house spotless by the time I get back. I have an important guest and I don't want to see any dust or grime anywhere. You got that." He shook her shoulders roughly.

"Who is it?" Clary dared to ask.

"None of your bloody business. I just want this house clean from top to bottom by the time I get back at 7pm." Valentine stomped towards the door. He grabbed hold of the handle and turned to her.

"Also, I want you to cook something nice, not like the usual shit you make." With that he was gone with a slam of the door.

Clary sighed. _'This must be some important person coming for him to get so worked up about'_ she thought. Clary could see that she had her work cut out, but got started straight away because she knew that Valentine had gone to the pub to meet this person and will probably come back even more drunk as he usually is.

By the time she had made the food and cleaned the house, Clary could see that the counter tops were shining and there wasn't a spec of dust anywhere. There was still a strong stench of alcohol, but other than that, the house was spotless. She was exhausted. Suddenly, the door was flung open and she could hear her father's drunken singing. He staggered into the hallway with a man who was trying desperately to keep him upright.

"Aah, Clarissa, meet Steve Roberts." Valentine slurred. "He is a… umm… he's a… What are you again?"

"I'm a dealer." Steve said. Clary noticed her didn't actually say what type of dealer he was.

"Oh, yes. I remember now. Come in to the lounge and we can have a whisky. You… hic… you said you had something you wanted to show me." Valentine lurched into the lounge. Steve smirked and followed him in, carrying in a black briefcase, shutting the door softly behind him.

Clary wearily walked into the kitchen. She sat down and slumped onto the stable. Through the window, a team of special agents from the CID could see that the girl practically run off her feet from cleaning the house, which had started as a pig sty to a house that was presentable. Though another window they could see a drunken man with blond hair and another man with charcoal black hair. They were there because the man with the black hair was Steve Roberts. The infamous drug dealer that had slipped from their fingers on numerous occasions and they were sure they had got him now.


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks for the reviews. I forgot to put this on my last chapter, but I didn't own Mortal Instruments. All characters and references belong to Cassandra Clare. Here is Chapter 2. I hope you like it!**

Chapter 2

Valentine seemed to snap out of his drunken stupor.

"What did you just say?"

"Drugs." Steve Roberts gave a sly smile.

"No." Valentine shook his head. "I maybe an alcoholic, but I'm not stooping that low."

"Well, it seems that you are already addicted to the drug that I've slipped into your drink while we ate our meal and then in the last 2 hours." The hand that Valentine's glass was in froze half way to his mouth. He stared at it stupidly.

"What will happen?"

"I think, if my memory serves me correctly, that you will die in…" Steve glanced at his watch. "About 5 minutes."

"5 minutes!" Valentine spluttered.

"Yep." Steve stood up and looked down at the frozen man. "And also, about 1 hour ago, you handed me a check for all the money in your bank account."

"Wha-"

"You won't remember. The drug has that affect if you drink it at the right quantity and every half hour." Steve looked at his watch. "I have to go now, I have another appointment." He turned as he reached the door. "Just to say, you have 2 minutes left of your sorry life."

Just as Steve turned, the door burst open and a swarm of men in black, holding guns ran into the room.

"GET DOWN, GET DOWN! THIS IS THE POLICE. DROP THE SUITCASE AND RAISE YOUR HANDS SLOWLY ABOVE YOUR HEAD." Steve Roberts saw immediately he was outnumbered. The leader, Sam Black, looked around the room and grinned. They had finally caught the man who had dealt drugs and stole millions from unsuspecting people. Sam suddenly glimpsed a man slouched in the chair facing away from them. As his men handcuffed Steve Roberts and took him away, Sam ran over to the armchair and stopped dead.

"Peter! Quick call the ambulance. This man has just been drugged." The man called Peter ran out into the hallway and called the hospital. "David. Go and search the rest of the house. Find that redheaded girl we saw earlier."

The redheaded girl they were talking about had actually gone to bed after her father and the strange man had finished their meal. Clary had woken up to lots of shouting downstairs. She crossed her room in a few strides and opened the door cautiously. A man who was coming up the stairs spotted her. Clary slammed the door and ran and hid in the wardrobe. The man entered the room, surveying the room warily.

"Come out Miss. I won't hurt you. I'm from the CID." Clary could see from the man through the crack in the doors that he wasn't lying because he was dressed in the classic CID uniform. "Please show yourself. Your father is critically ill."

Clary carefully opened the door of her wardrobe. The man turned to face her. She bit her lip.

"Is my father going to be OK?"

"I'm not sure. He's on his way to the hospital now. Come downstairs, your safe now." He held his hand out to her. '_Well he can't be worse than my father'_ Clary thought. The man smiled as she put her hand in his. "By the way, I'm called David, David Stevenson. What's your name?"

Clary smiled timidly. David seemed nice enough.

"My name is Clarissa Morgenstern, but I liked to be called Clary."

"Well, it's nice to meet you Clary. Come on."

Downstairs, it was all very quiet. Steve Roberts had been taken away and Valentine had been taken to hospital. Only the team leader, Sam Black, and some of his squad were left. David led Clary downstairs. Sam had just put down the telephone.

"I found the girl, Sir. She's called Clarissa Morgenstern."

Sam looked at Clary with sympathy. She felt dread building up in her. Sam sighed.

"That was the hospital on the phone. I'm truly sorry Clarissa, but your father has just passed away." Clary stood there in shock. Valentine. Dead. Her father… is dead?

"How… did he die?" Clary choked. David put his arm around her. She was grateful for the comfort.

"They said it was drug overdose."

"Drug overdose?" said Clary in disbelief. "But my father never took drugs."

"Well, you know the man who was here earlier?" Clary nodded, "He is called Steve Roberts, and he is an infamous drug dealer. We're just thankful we've caught him." Clary sank to the floor and put her head in the hands.

"Do you have any relatives that live close by?"

"I have an uncle, but I'm not sure where he lives. He's called Sebastian Morgenstern."

"Do you have any close friends that you can stay with?"

Clary immediately thought of Simon and nodded.

That's how Clary ended up on Simon's bed, with her head on his shoulder, crying her eyes out. The good thing about Simon was that he didn't say stupid things like "Are you alright?" or "I'm sorry about your father" or anything like that. He just held her. Even though Valentine wasn't the best father in the world, he was still her father.


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks for the positive feed back. Here's Chapter 3! **

**Disclaimer: I didn't own Mortal Instruments. All characters and references belong to Cassandra Clare.**

Chapter 3

"Right Miss, here we are." Clary looked out the window and all she could was green. It was very different from the city she grew up in. "That's £28 please."

Clary hastily gave the taxi driver the money and scrambled out the car. The past day had gone by in a blur. She had said a tearful goodbye to Simon at the train station and then spent the rest of the train journey watching the scenery whizzing past. If Clary wasn't so apprehensive about where she was going, then she would have been very excited to get out the city.

She looked down the street and saw two rows of 1960's terraced houses, lined with trees. It was the type of street you would see in a magazine. Clary looked at the piece of paper the police had given her before she left.

**Sebastian Morgenstern**

**Greenwood,**

**White Avenue**

It wasn't much help because it didn't tell her which house her uncle lived in. Clary sighed. _'Why do I have to come and live with an uncle who I barely know in the middle of nowhere'_ she thought despairingly. Clary shook her head and made up her mind. She boldly walked up to the first door she came to, took a deep breath and knocked three times.

(...)

"But _Jaaace, _I lo-"

"No Aline, you don't love me," Jace pinched the bridge of his nose. Why wouldn't she just leave him alone! "Look I have to go. I don't want to sit here listening to your incessant whining."

Jace hung up and slumped back on his bed. He hated clingy girls and Aline was one clingy girl. What doesn't she understand about 'no strings attached?'. Sure, he enjoyed his nights with her, but, honestly, she really needs to let him get on with his life.

His door burst open and in walked a beautiful, tall girl with her long hair in a tight ponytail.

"Geez Izzy, the polite thing to do is knock before you barge in."

"Since when are you ever polite?" She shot back. Jace rolled his eyes.

"What do you want?"

"Well… I heard you on the phone with Aline and I know how she is a bitch and I was just wondering…"

"You were wondering why I hook up with her." Jace sighed and looked at Isabelle. She put on her puppy dog face and only a man with a cold heart could resist is. "Fine! If you must know, she was devastated when her boyfriend broke up with her and I found her crying behind a tree." Jace shrugged. "and I suppose it went on from there. I've only been on one date with her and shagged her a few times, but then I broke up with her after I found out she was seeing another guy. And that's what you just heard.

"Is that it?"

"What do you mean? Of course that's it." Jace was suspicious. Isabelle didn't usually pay attention about who he dated.

"Well," Isabelle fidgeted. "I suppose I don't mind you having, like, 6 girlfriends a month, but I just don't like you getting hurt." She bit her lip and ran out the door before her could say anything

Jace's face softened and he shook his head. It was nice when Isabelle showed kindness towards him.

"Than-" Jace was cut off by three sharp knock on the front door.

"Ugh, I bet that's Aline come to give me a piece of her mind."

"Go away, Aline! I don't want to speak to you." Jace shouted down the hallway. "Why don't you just leave my alone." He said as he opened that door. But it wasn't Aline's wavy brown hair that greeted him, but a short girl with a mass of fiery red hair and striking green eyes. "Oh, what are you doing here?"

"Is that her?" Isabelle shouted from the top of the stairs. "Oh my God, I'm going to rip her hair out."

The redheaded girl's eyes widened with fear as Isabelle came hurtling out brandishing some hair curlers.

(...)

Clary stood outside the house for only a few minutes when she heard someone thundering down the stairs.

"Go away, Aline! I don't want to speak to you." She heard a man's voice shout. "Why don't you just leave my alone." Someone flung open the door and she met a pair of golden eyes. She felt like she was drowning in them. "Oh, what are you doing here?"

Clary was about to answer when she saw a figure barrelling towards her, shouting and waving, what looked to be some hair curlers. Fear entered her body. '_Were all people trying to hurt her?'._ She took off in a sprint down the road, wanting to get away from the mad person as fast as possible.

Jace caught Isabelle just in time.

"Izzy! What the hell are you doing?"

"But... I thought…"

"Well what you thought was wrong." Jace set off in pursuit after the girl, who had set off down the street. Clary, who sensed that someone was chasing her, sped up. _'Blimey, this girl is fast."_ Jace thought as he chased after the mass of red curls. He could see she was slowing down.

Clary could hear her pursuer was right behind her. She looked around just in time to be tacked to the ground. She struggled.

"Get off me!" Clary hit and kicked the body that was on top of her but nothing worked. Jace felt the girl go limp as she opened her eyes and he was lost in emerald eyes.


	4. Chapter 4

**Merry Christmas! Really sorry I haven't updated, been busy with exams and stuff. Plus my internet died on me for a week, which is annoying. Anyway, here's Chapter 4. Hope you like it **

**Disclaimer: I didn't own Mortal Instruments. All characters and ****references belong to Cassandra Clare.**

Chapter 4

They stared at each other for what seemed to be a long time. Clary gazed into the boy's mesmerising, unusual golden eyes. He had the hair to match, but what she noticed the most was that he was stunningly beautiful and he was on top of her.

Jace looked into deep pools of green. He found himself lost in her eyes. The girl, he had unceremonisally tackled to the ground, had a flaming red hair and was very pretty. Not hot, like Aline or any of the other girls he hooked up with, but beautiful in her own simple way. She suddenly blushed as she noticed their situation. Jace smirked but got up. He held out is hand to her, but she flinched away. Felling a bit rejected he said,

"Hi." _Come on Jace, you can think of a better greeting than that!_

"I'm Jace. Sorry about Izzy, she has anger issues." He chuckled. Isabelle would kill him if she knew he had said that. "What's your name by the way?

Clary awkwardly got up off the floor.

"Umm…" She fidgeted. "My name's Clary." She mumbled.

"Ok then. Come on then, Clary." Jace started walking away, expecting her to follow. Clary looked around warily, as if to see if there were any more mad people going to chase after her, and hurried after him. She only carried a small rucksack and seemed to be clutching it protectively.

"Where are we going?" Clary asked, struggling to keep up with Jace's long legs.

"Back to my house. Just to warn you Izzy will probably jump on you. In a good way, she'll want to apologise." He added, seeing Clary's worried face. They walked back in silence. Jace kept sneaking looks at her. It was then he realised that she was actually very short. She was at least 5'2 and her head came just below his chin. He wondered why she had turned up at his house.

As soon as they got through the front gate, Isabelle flew out the house and launched herself at Clary.

"Oh my God, I'm sooo sorry! I didn't realise it wasn't Aline and I just got so angry and I just grabbed the first thing I saw and charged downstairs. Not thinking for one moment that it might not be Aline and of course it wasn't, it was you. But, I'm really sorr-"

"Alright Izzy!" Jace interrupted. "I think Clary has got the message, don't scare her off again."

"Oh. Right. Sorry. Anyway, my name is Isabelle, but you can call me Izzy if you want."

Clary was a bit shocked to say the least about Isabelle's outburst. "It's fine." She smiled weakly. "Nice I meet you. I'm Clary."

"That's great!" Izzy squealed, "We're going to be best friends, just you wait. Come on in and I'll get you a drink." Isabelle linked arms with Clary and dragged her in the house.

Clary gave Jace a _'Help me!'_ look as Izzy pulled her into the house. Jace just rolled his eyes and followed them in. Isabelle always liked to make up for what she had done wrong by giving them something. He remembered when she had spilt something on his favourite t-shirt. He had got really angry with her and she had gone to town the next day to buy him the very same t-shirt with her own money.

Clary was towed into their living room.

"Ok, sit anywhere and I'll go and get you a drink."

"Wait!" Isabelle stopped halfway to the kitchen. "Thank you, but I don't want anything.

"Are you sure do you want anything to eat or something?"

"No, I'm fine thanks."

"Oh. Ok then." Izzy came to sit opposite her.

"What I want to know is what you're doing in this town in the middle of nowhere, and why you knocked on our door." Clary jumped at Jace's voice. She hadn't noticed him enter the room.

"Well…" She took out the piece of paper with her uncle's details on. "I want to know where Sebastian Morgenstern is."

Jace was shocked and his face showed it. He shared a glance with Isabelle who looked a bit worried.

"You don't want anything to do with him." Jace said shortly.

"Why?"

"Well… Sebastian Morgenstern is an alcoholic and to tell you the truth he loses his temper a lot and takes it out on people weaker than him. As I said, you don't want anything to do with him."

"Oh." Clary looked at them both. _Well this was going to be awkward._ "He… he's my uncle." There was a shocked silence.

Jace spoke up first. "Your uncle?"

"Yes, I came here to," Clary hesitated. "I came here because of family problems and he's the only one I have left." She felt hopelessness build up inside her.

"What happened to your parents?" Isabelle asked attentively.

A sob escaped Clary's lips.

"Hey, hey. I'm sorry." Isabelle sat next to her and placed to comforting hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry I asked. You don't have to tell us."

"Thanks, I'd rather not talk about it. I just need to find him."

Clary looked so vulnerable with her big green eyes, that Jace just wanted to comfort her and tell her it will be ok an- Hang on. Jace shook his head. He didn't usually think that way. _Damm, that girl is affecting me._

Jace stood up and looked at his watch. "Come on. It's almost 7:30, he'll get home in a few minutes. I'll take you to his house, it's not very far."

"Will you? Thank you." Clary turned to Izzy.

"I take it you'll be going to the same school as us, so I'll see you on Monday." Izzy smiled and hugged Clary. Not noticing when she stifled a gasp and moved uncomfortably when Izzy squeezed one of her black bruises.

"Bye Izzy."

Jace was waiting for her outside. She shouldered her backpack and met him at the gate. He looked angelic as the sun shone out from behind him. Making his blond hair look like it was glowing and making his eyes glow. Clary ached to draw him. He smiled at her and she noticed a chip in his tooth, which was his only flaw.

"You ready?"

Clary nodded.

"This way then." Jace led her to the house across the road.


	5. Chapter 5

**I'm really sorry I haven't updated for a while, it's because I've got three exams and I've been busy revising.****Thanks to all the alerts, favourites and reviews. It encourages me to keep writing and updating. Anyway, here's Chapter 5. Please review!**

**Disclaimer: I didn't own Mortal Instruments. All characters and belong to Cassandra Clare.**

Chapter 5

The houses on White Avenue were 1960's houses. They were the traditional grey brick and black tiled houses. Each house had a neat little garden at the front with a black metal gate and a path that let to the steps to the front door. However, the house that Clary and Jace stood in front of was far from neat. Most of the tiles had fallen off the roof and what was left of them was covered in dirt and moss. There was ivy growing all across the house. It would have looked alright if the ivy wasn't all yellow, with bird's nests in it. The little garden at the front was very over grown, with lots of weeds and random plants growing out the gravel. _'This is a pig's sty'_ thought Clary despairingly

Jace looked at Clary's disgusted face. "It's a pig's sty.' he said, as if reading her mind.

"I suppose I'd better knock." Clary grimaced. She forced open the gate and navigated her way through all the tangling weeds to the front door. It looked like it was painted green along time ago, but all the paint had peeled off and it appeared to have had a knocker, but there was a lighter patch where it had been. Clary took a deep breath and knocked on the door… and then knocked again… She turned to Jace

"There's no one in."

"Really?" Jace looked at his watch surprised. "He's usually back by now. Let's go in." Jace strode up to the door and walked in.

"Jace, do you really think we should just walk into someone's house without their permission?" Clary hesitantly walked through the door.

"No, that's what's so fun." Jace said with a smirk. Clary just rolled her eyes and followed him into what looked to be the living room, except there were no curtains and what was left of them were hanging from the rails in shreds with massive stains on them. The wallpaper on the walls was pealing to show the brick wall behind. The carpet had lots of splotches on them and Clary didn't even want to start to think what they were.

"Well, I suppose we should wait here until he comes back." Clary said as she perched on the edge of the worn-out looking sofa. It was the only thing in the room that actually looked stain free.

"No worries. I'm sure you won't mind waiting here with my magnificent self."

Clary scoffed. "I'm surprised your ego didn't get stuck in the door on the way in."

Jace put a hand to his chest in mock hurt. "Clary, you wounded me." Clary laughed at Jace's expression, but stopped suddenly, realising that it was the first time in ages that she had laughed out loud. Jace sensed Clary's change in mood but didn't say anything.

"Did yo-" Jace started to say, but was cut off by the noise of drunkard singing. Clary walked to the window and could see someone staggering round the corner. The men had platinum blond hair, looked similar to her father and, um, let's just say, he had a bear belly. _'Oh dear,'_ Clary thought as the man stumbled over the kerb and lurched towards the front gate. _'This isn't going to be pleasant.'_

(...)

Sebastian Morgenstern was in a bad mood. He had had a rubbish night. Firstly, some bloke had punched him for cheating and that lead to a big brawl. Secondly, his bird had stranded him at the pub with no lift home, claiming that he had ruined her night and left him to his own devises.

_'Stupid son of a bitch. No one plays me and wins. Not if I can get away with it. Plus, that cow dumped me outside the pub, probably just to spend her night with someone else. Uh, I hate her.'_

Sebastian stumbled up the steps to his front door and groped his way to his living room. There he found two teenagers, one with fiery red hair and the other with blonde hair.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING IN MY HOUSE?!"

Clary jumped and stood up. "Hello Unc- err, Mr. Morgenstern. I'm Clary."

"How do you know my name? Who's he?" Sebastian pointed at Jace accusingly. "And why do you look familiar? You'd better answer my questions because I'm not in a very good mood."

"Of Corse, why don't you sit down and I'll explain everything."

"And I'm Jace by the way. I live in the house opposite you and often think-"

"All right Jace." Clary said, exasperated. She looked at her uncle, who grunted and sat down in the armchair by the fireplace.

"Well you see Mr. Morgenstern; I'm… your brother's daughter." Sebastian gestured her to go on. "He…" her voice got caught in her throat, "He died on Friday."

"He what?" Sebastian stood up suddenly. "But… but he can't have. I only spoke to him a couple of months ago." He sank back down in the chair and put his head in his hands.

Clary cautiously put her hand on him arm. "Since you're the only living relative I have, I was wondering if I could come and stay with you?

"Yeah, yeah. Alright.

**A/N**

**Two questions:**

**1. Do you think I need a beta and if I do, please will you PM any recommendations you have.**

**2. Can anyone tell me what AU, AH, OC and OOC mean?**

**Thanks for reading!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hi! Thanks for all of your reviews. I'm really sorry for not updating for AGES! I've decided not to have a beta yet, but thanks to Soaking in the Rein who offered**** :)****. I suppose my story is AU, AH, there are some OC and maybe a bit OOC. This is Chapter 6, I hope you like it. Please review!**

**Disclaimer: I didn't own Mortal Instruments. All characters and belong to Cassandra Clare.**

Chapter 6

Clary woke to the sunlight pouring through her curtain-less windows. She rubbed her eyes and sat up. She sighed. After Jace had gone, she had found Sebastian sitting in his chair with a glass of whiskey in his hand.

_Clary felt dread creep into her but suppressed it quickly._'He will not be like my father_.'__She thought__.__Clary cautiously went up to her uncle._

_"Um, Uncle?"_

_"Don't call me uncle!" he cut her off sharply._

_"Ok, I'm sorry. Sir?" He nodded, "I was wondering where I should sleep."_

"_There's an empty bedroom upstairs." He took a swig of his whiskey and stood up unsteadily. He lurched towards her. Clary backed away, shaking with fear. Sebastian pointed a dirty finger at her. "Don't get in my way and I won't get in yours." With that, he stumbled out the room. _

_Clary sank to the ground. _"Oh my God, what have I got myself into?"_ She put her head in her hands. _"He's only acting like this because of the bad news"_ Clary told herself firmly. _"It will be alright in the morning"

_Clary carried her backpack up the cold wooden stairs. On the landing there were four doors. One was closed and there was a stench of alcohol seeping under the door. That one, she assumed, was Sebastian's. She could see that one was the bathroom and the other was a spare bedroom, littered with God know what. There was only one room left. In it, there was a bed with and bedside table and a wardrobe. That was all. _"Well, at least it's a bit bigger than my room at home."_ Clary thought, sighing. She walked over to the window and looked out. Clary looked up and saw the moon peeking out from behind the clouds. Her gaze travelled to a room opposite her window. It was considerably bigger than hers and was completely white and, from where Clary was standing, there was not a speck of dust out of place. _

_Suddenly Jace walked in and Clary ducked out of sight, even though she knew he couldn't see her because there was no light in her room. Clary frowned; it didn't look like a normal teenage boy's room. Normally, there were clothes strewn all over the floor and posters of a band. Well, that was what Simon's bedroom was like. Clary felt a pang in her chest thinking if Simon. The last time she saw of him was his fading image through a stained train window._

_In his room, Jace rubbed his eyes and ran a hand through his hair, making it even messier then it was. He grabbed a towel and walked back out again. Clary cautiously raised her head to see that Jace had gone. She sighed, got changed and clambered onto bed with the image of gold burning in the back of her mind._

Now, Clary wondered what the day would bring her. She walked over to her backpack and rummaged through it. Clary left her battered phone, which was actually Simon's old phone, and her iPod, which was Simon's as well, in the bag and took out her sketch book and pencils and dumped them on the bed. She hung up the little clothes she had in the wardrobe and got changed for the day in denim jeans and a green tank top. Clary didn't even bother wrestling with her untamed curls and tied her hair up in a messy bun. Clary cautiously went downstairs to find Sebastian slouched in a kitchen chair.

"Morning, Unc- um, Sir." Sebastian grunted. Clary walked over to the fridge. "Sir?"

"What." her uncle said without looking up.

"There's no food in the fridge."

"Well, you'd better go and get some hadn't you." Clary jumped at the sharpness in his voice. _"Don't worry, he's just got a hangover from last night. He's not usually like this."_

"Um, ok. Please may I have some money?" Clary asked carefully.

"Yeah," Sebastian fished some coins out his pocket and slapped them down on the table. "Here you go. Get me some whisky while you're there."

Clary scooped them up. "Hang on."

Sebastian looked up sharply.

"There's only £1.65, there won't be enough…" Clary's voice trailed off at the sight of his thunderous glare.

"I'm not made of money, you know!" he snapped, standing up. "You'll have to go without if there isn't enough, but I WANT MY WHISKY!" His voice rose to a shout. Clary stumbled back into the kitchen counter.

"Ok, ok. I'll get your whisky. Please d-don't hurt me." Clary cowered back away from Sebastian's menacing face.

"Get out of my sight." Clary scrambled to the door quickly, shaking. She stumbled down the front steps out onto the road, clutching the coins to her chest. Clary set off down the road desperate to get away, when she stopped suddenly. She had no idea where she was going. Clary spun around, frantically trying to find a sign, anything.

"Clary?" She herd a deep voice behind her a screamed, the coins scattering everywhere.


	7. Chapter 7

**Thanks so much for your reviews and to all the people who added it to their favourites/alerts. Here's Chapter 7, read and enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I didn't own Mortal Instruments. All characters and belong to Cassandra Clare.**

Chapter 7

"Oh my God, Jace. Give my damn phone back!"

"Only if you can catch me." Jace smirked and tossed Isabelle's phone in the air and caught it.

"If you drop my phone, I swear to God I will kill you." Isabelle screamed. She lunged at Jace, who darted under the slide.

"It's not nice to swear Izzy." Jace said mockingly. Isabelle screeched in frustration.

From the top of the slide, a boy watched them with amusement. He had the same dark black hair and pale skin as Isabelle's, but where her eyes were black, Alec had electric dark blue eyes. You could see straight away that they were siblings. "Give her the phone, Jace, or she'll attack you with those talons she calls nails."

"Damn right I will and when I catch you I'll do a lot worse than scratch you."

Jace chuckled, "Alright, alright. Keep your hair on!" He held his hands up in surrender and Jace held the hand that had the phone in front of Isabelle. She looked at him with suspicion. He didn't usually give up that easily. Cautiously she reached for it, but just at the last moment, her phone was is the air, flying towards Alec who caught it deftly.

Isabelle stalked towards Alec with one of her '_Don't mess with me'_ looks.

"Hey, Alec." Jace called, "Don't giv- Aw no, you traitor!" Alec just shrugged, not wanting to get involved.

Jace sighed and retreated to the swings. He looked out across the road where he could see two rows of houses. At each end was his and Clary's house.

Clary.

That girl was on his mind all of last night. He just couldn't get her out of his head, even though he had only just met her. She was… different. She didn't fall for his charms like other girls did. Those wide green eyes had looked at him with an emotion he couldn't describe. She had just left him stunned.

A sound of a door slamming and hurried steps broke him out of his thoughts. He looked up to see Clary. Clary! His eyes lightened and stood up. He unconsciously started towards her, but then he frowned and his steps faltered. Clary seemed distressed and was spinning around as if looking for something, with her hands to her chest clutching something. Jace jogged across the road.

"Clary?"

Then she screamed. Not like when you see a horror film and it's scary, but an _'Oh my God, I'm going to die'_scream. The coins she was holding scattered on the ground.

"Whoa! Clary, it's ok. It's me, Jace." Clary turned around and Jace reached for Clary, wanting to comfort her or something. She immediately flinched from his is touch, jerking away from him. '_That's strange'_Jace thought. He held his hands up to say his won't harm her. "Are you alright?"

Clary nodded. When she had heard a voice she had panicked, but now she felt a bit stupid. '_Anyway, he only seems worried about her because he's just being polite, he'll never care for her'._

"I'm fine." It came out a bit wobbly, but she held her head high to show him that she was actually fine.

Jace wasn't convinced but didn't say anything.

"I'll help you." He gestured to the coins on the ground. Clary nodded again and bent down to collect the scattered coins. Jace couldn't help but admire Clary as she picked up the coins. He noticed that even though she didn't flaunt it, she had a really nice body. She was so subtly beautiful that you had to really look at her to notice it. The curve of her jaw line and the patches of freckles outlined her porcelain skin perfectly. The redness of her hair made her eyes shine like emeralds in the night.

Clary felt Jace's gaze out her and blushed faintly. She covered it up by holding her hand out for the dropped coins.

"Thanks."

They stood awkwardly, looking anywhere but at each other.

Clary broke the silence.

"Anyway, I've got to go."

"Right, sure." Clary started to walk off. "Hey, can I come with you?"

Clary looked surprised. _'Damn it Jace, you came over too eager.'_

"I mean, only if you want me to." Jace added hastily.

"Yeah, if you want to. I'm only going to the shops." Clary started walking down the road with Jace following. Then she turned to him, "Oh, um, I don't really know where I'm going."

"Well, it's a good thing a god has come from heaven to show you the way." Jace gave a sweeping bow and smirked.

Clary looked around. "I don't see him."

"Clary, you wounded me." Jace said in mock hurt, putting his hand to his heart.

Clary laughed at his expression. "Don't be silly! Anyway, are you going to show me the way or not."

"Of course. Follow me."

Together, they set off. Neither of them talked, but the silence wasn't awkward like it was before. Clary snuck glances at Jace every so often. As an artist, she assessed him. The way his cheek bone stood out casted perfect shadows making him look more mysterious. His hair fell faultlessly across his forehead and his eyes shone golden.

"Like what you see?" Jace waggled his eyebrows at her. Clary blushed at being caught looking at him.

"It's cute when you blush." This obviously made Clary blush even more. She looked away in embarrassment. She wasn't used to being complimented.

They made small talk until Jace announce they were there. Clary looked up. They were standing in front of a small brick corner shop. Above the door, there was a big, sparkly sign saying: 'MAGNUS'S MAGNIFICANT STORE'

Clary raised an eyebrow at Jace, who just shrugged and stepped into the shop.


	8. Chapter 8

**Really sorry I'm not updating regularly. I'm not going to say any useless excuses, but thanks so much for keeping reading my story. I will try and make the chapters a bit longer, but this one will be shorter because I wanted to update before I went on holiday. I will also change the chapter and make it longer when I update again.**

**Just to clarify, Clary is 17 and Jace is 18. Also, the legal age to buy alcohol in the UK is 18. **

**OMG! 61 reviews! I love you all so much :D. Also, thanks to the people who added my story to their favourites/alerts. Here's Chapter 8. Please review :)**

**Hey, this is the updated version. I changed the first bit slightly and then made it longer. **

**Thanks for reading **

**Disclaimer: I didn't own Mortal Instruments. All characters and belong to Cassandra Clare.**

Chapter 8

The smell was the first thing that hit her. It was a mixture between cinnamon, jasmine and cats – a very strange combination. The shop was lit by hundreds of candles and in the dim light, Clary could see rows and rows of shelves. The one nearest to her had jars of pickled foods: pickled eggs, pickled onions, pickled cucumber and god knows what else! On another shelf, there were stacks of books, all tightly packed together. Some of the titles she recognised, like Dickens, Shakespeare and the Brontë sisters, but there were others that were bound in leather and their spines were studded with brightly shining jewels and they looked like nothing she'd ever seen before.

"Who dares enter my cavern?"

The voice came from the shadows in the corner. Clary whirled around and tried to see who was there. All she could see was glowing cat eyes that glinted in the candle-light.

"Who are you?" Jace warily asked.

"It is I, Magnus the Magnificent!" The person who stepped into the light was not what Clary was expecting. The man was tall and thin. His head was covered in short, black spikes and he wore black jeans and a black shirt that was densely packed with dozens of metal studs. Clary could see from the curve of his eyes and the tone of his skin that his was part Asian. She could also see that he was covered in glitter from head to toe.

Magnus grinned. "Welcome to 'Magnus's Magnificent Store'! I have everything from pens to yo-yo's to custard. You name it, I have it."

Jace looked at him sceptically. "I'm not sure we should have come here." He grumbled to Clary.

"Oh, come on. Give him a chance. It looks like he hasn't had any customers in a long time."

Jace huffed, but nodded. They walked up and down the aisles. Whilst Jace was absorbed in studying the assortment of knives in a glass case, Clary sneaked of to find the whiskey her uncle wanted. It took her at least five minutes to find where the alcohol was, looking up and down the numerous aisles. When she did, Clary stared despairingly at the range of whisky there was.

"Are you sure you're old enough to buy that stuff?" Clary jumped and turned to see Magnus.

"Um, well, I'm 17, so no."

"What do you need it for?"

Clary fidgeted under Magnus's scrutiny. She said the first thing that came into her head. "I need it for my uncle," Clary winced in her head. She probably shouldn't have said that. "He's gone into this phase of making... Marmalade." Or that.

"Marmalade?"

Clary nodded. "Yes, marmalade. It's an old family recipe, making it with whiskey. He said it gives it more flavour."

Magnus looked at her. It looked like he didn't believe her for one minute, but he didn't say anything. Instead, he turned and motioned her to follow him. Clary quickly grabbed the cheapest bottle she could find and hurried after him.

Magnus went to the counter where Jace was standing waiting for her. However, Clary got waylaid as she passed the art section. She gazed at the collection of pencils and sketchbook wistfully, wishing she had enough money to but at least something. Drawing had always been her passion and she hadn't fully been able to get really into it because she had never been able to get the equipment she needed, even though Simon did give her gifts once in a while.

Magnus saw her expression and called to her. "Hey, why don't you pick out some pencils you like and I'll give you them free."

Clary jerked her head in Magnus's direction. She was shocked that someone who she had only met a few minutes ago. She started to protest, but he just held up his hand. "No, I insist. I'll to pay for the things you want to buy. _All _of them, and to pay me back you can come and work here."

Clary's face lit up. "Really, that would be great! I've always wanted a job."

Magnus smiled at her happy face. "You've got school tomorrow haven't you?" Magnus asked. Clary nodded. "Well, after school, drop in when you have moment and we can talk. I could do with some company. Chairman Meow isn't much of a talker."

"Ok, thank you. Who's Chairman Meow?"

"He's my cat. He's around somewhere. I'll see you tomorrow, yes?"

"Yes, that will be great." Clary placed the whisky and some pencils in a bag Magnus handed her. Jace gave her a curious look when he noticed the whisky. Clary's cheeks flushed, but she held his gaze, challenging him to say something. To her relief he just looked away. As they were walking out of the shop, Clary turned to say 'Good bye' to Magnus only to find that he was gone.

Jace stepped out of the dark shop into the sunlight. He hated to admit, but he was staring to feel uncomfortable under Magnus's gaze and he wanted to get out of the shop as soon as possible. He only went there if it was necessary because it was the only place that sold everything. Plus he wanted to show Clary everywhere and she ended up getting a job which she seemed very happy about. Maybe almost too happy. Also, she had that bottle of whisky, what did she need that for? The wheels in Jace's head were turning. Where has this mysterious girl come from? Why is she staying with that man, Sebastian? Why is Magnus buying alcohol for her because she isn't old enough? What has she got to hide?


End file.
